COLLEGE FOOTBALL : UA vs.A&M could be official Monday
Posted on Saturday, March 8, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — The long-awaited official announcement of the long-discussed Arkansas-Texas A&M football series appears to be at hand.
The Dallas Cowboys have called a news conference for Monday morning at the site of the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas, to announce what it described as a “major event” coming to the facility in 2009.
The Fort-Worth Star Telegram, citing an anonymous source, reported Friday evening that the Monday news conference will deal with the series between the old Southwest Conference rivals.
Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long would not comment on the expected announcement.
The series, originally discussed as a six- or eight-year agreement, might not be that lengthy. The Star-Telegram reported there are indications it will be a five-year agreement.
That time frame would appear to fit into Arkansas’ plans. The Razorbacks have asked Texas, which will host Arkansas in Austin on Sept. 13, to delay returning that game until at least 2014. The game is currently scheduled to be played in Fayetteville in 2009, but it is likely to be moved because the Razorbacks would have 13 games on their schedule and probably wouldn’t like to play Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida and Texas in the same season.
“We have been close [to completing the A&M deal ] for a long time, but we’ve got to put the final pieces together and they are not done yet,” Long told the Democrat-Gazette last month.
Former Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles said the maximum projected revenue would be about $ 5 million per team per year for the life of the agreement with Texas A&M.
“That’s not guaranteed,” Broyles said last December. “That’s the estimated payout under the best conditions.”
Even at $ 4 million-plus, the game would represent a whopper of a payday for Arkansas. The series would also be a recruiting benefit for the Razorbacks in their heaviest out-of-state recruiting bed, and it would give Texas-based Arkansas fans easier access for attending games.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a former Arkansas player, said discussions about the series were ongoing when the Razorbacks were in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl.
“It would be a real positive thing for Razorback fans for it to happen, and for the program,” Jones said at the time.
Tickets for the Arkansas-A&M series are expected to be split on a 50-50 basis.
Arkansas leads the series with Texas A&M, first played in 1927, 38-24-3. The Hogs and Aggies met every year from 1934-1991 as members of the Southwest Conference.
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